News Analysis
A newly released FBI affidavit implicates the president of the Brookings Institution, retired four-star general John Allen, in an alleged backchannel effort to lobby former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster, as well as other U.S. government officials on behalf of the government of Qatar. Allen is alleged to have made false statements and concealed documents from the FBI in connection with his lobbying efforts.
Allen has been put on leave by the Brookings Institute, whose website states: “As of June 8, 2022, John R. Allen is on leave from the Brookings Institution.”
The FBI affidavit, which was apparently filed in error, was subsequently removed from the court’s docket. A copy was shared online (pdf) this morning by the New York Times. The inadvertent disclosure comes as part of a related case brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Richard Olson, a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates in the Obama administration. Olson was criminally charged in April for his alleged role in the lobbying campaign….